Top 5 Online Services for Recruiting Research Participants
If you want to make effective product decisions, you need to have good qualitative data for your research. And for good qualitative data, you need start with the right participants. While UserBit helps you streamline everything from managing participants to analyzing your research, recruiting research participants can still be a pain.
But fear not, for we have tightened our belts and put together a list of the most reliable services that will help you recruit research participants online.
Note: This page is updated on a quarterly basis to include pricing changes.
Fable
Overview
Accessibility is a top priority for us, so it is no surprise that Fable is at the top of our list. Fable specializes in recruiting participants with disabilities to test digital products. Fable's specific focus on accessibility testing can be particularly important for researchers who want to ensure inclusive design practices.
Pricing structure
Fable asks for anyone interested in its pricing structure to schedule a call with them.
Respondent
Overview
What makes Respondent stand out to us is knowing it can source from its diverse pool of over three million participants. It offers targeted recruitment for both B2C and B2B research and integrates smoothly with Google Calendar and Zoom. Other key strengths include specialized recruitment for working professionals and a user-friendly dashboard for managing participants.
Pricing structure
Respondent's pricing is based on a credit system. They offer different set of pricing depending on whether you want to target a consumer audience or professionals for your study.
B2C Plans:
- Pay As You Go: $39 per B2C credit, billed at completed research. This plan offers maximum flexibility, with incentives paid separately.
- Basic Plan: $33 per B2C credit for 60 credits annually ($1,980/year). It's suitable for smaller teams doing regular research with a consumer panel.
- Advanced Plan: $24 per B2C credit for 150 credits annually ($3,600/year). This plan is geared toward mid-sized teams conducting regular research.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for higher-volume research organizations, with features like dedicated customer success management and mixed-methodology discounts.
B2B Plans:
The pricing for B2B research is generally higher due to the specialized knowledge required, limited participant pool, and longer research sessions.
All subscription plans include unlimited seats, Google Calendar and Zoom integration, secure messaging, NDA and document signing, among other features.
User Interviews
Overview
Like Respondent, User Interviews offers both recruitment and the ability to manage participants via its Research Hub product.
User Interviews focuses on speed and offers a variety of products to expedite the research recruitment process including automating scheduling and incentives.
Pricing structure
User Interviews has two paths where you can get access to vetted participants through their Recruit product, or bring your own users and create a panel with their Research Hub.
Their plans are quite extensive, so we suggest looking directly at their pricing page to find the most suitable solution for you or your team.
dscout
Overview
Especially known for its diary study capabilities and remote research methods, dscout lets researchers to engage with participants through mobile diaries, in-depth interviews, and partaking in missions (tasks). They also offer features like video responses and participant tagging.
Pricing structure
Currently, dscout doesn't provide a fixed pricing structure on their website, but instead offer personalized plans that can be adjusted according to the size and scope of your team's research activities.
The features available across dscout’s plans include participant messaging, incentive management, NDA and consent forms, customizable exports, and integration with tools like Figma, Slack, and Miro.
Ethnio
Overview
Ethnio provides a centralized platform aimed at simplifying interview scheduling, payment processing, candidate screening, and interaction tracking within a unified system.
The platform also features a participant manager that’s equipped with customization options like custom segments, tags, filters, and the ability to create tailored screening surveys.
Pricing structure
Here’s a quick guide to Ethnio’s pricing:
- Starter Plan ($12 per seat/month): This plan is great for individuals who are starting with research operations tools. It includes unlimited screeners and studies, 24/7 Help Center access, and 2 seats.
- Plus Plan ($40 per seat/month): Ethnio’s Plus plan offers everything in the Starter Plan, along with centralized consent, dedicated team support, and 4 seats.
- Pro Plan ($82 per seat/month): This pricing includes everything in the Plus Plan and adds features like localization and global incentives, enhanced support and training, and is suitable for 6 seats.
- Enterprise Plan: This is a custom plan designed for larger teams and organizations, requiring a minimum of 8 seats. It includes all features in the Pro Plan, along with a pool with unlimited participants, dedicated CSM, Slack, Zoom support, and SSO/3rd party risk assessments.
Conclusion
We hope this list is helpful for when you need the convenience of finding external research participants online. Remember though, no matter how you source your participants you can always manage them and their qualitative data on UserBit.
